The Duel That Never Was: Seto Vs Ianto
by KaibaGirl007
Summary: Bonus, alternative, chapter fic written to go alongside my Doctoring the Blue Eyes fic. How well will Seto duel in a timeline that's not his own?


**I own no rights 'cause I'm poor :P**

**This fic has been written as a bonus, alternative, chapter for my fic 'Doctoring The Blue Eyes' (set after chapter 22, if Seto and Jack had not gone for that drink and encountered the TARDIS) and is a way of me saying an extra big 'Thank You' to all my fantastic reviewers :)**

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**Special dedication to 'starwefter', who I greatly appreciate for leaving reviews on all of my fics that she's read, as well as pointing out numerous typos (I will get around to correcting them all someday, lol) and her all-round general friendliness.** W**ithout her disappointment of not witnessing a duel between these two guys**, **I would not have been prompted into writing this. **

**"Diolch!"**

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**The Duel That Never Was: Seto Kaiba Vs Ianto Jones**

Seto checked the door number and street name one last time. "This can't be it?" He murmured out loud as he came to a halt outside the address that was neatly scribbled on the piece of paper he held in his hand. The property standing before him was an old, Victorian house, - converted into two flats, - which was quite badly run down and the front garden was in dire need of attention too. It was completely the opposite of the high-priced, modern, newly built apartment that he inhabited on the bay front, and since they were all paid in the same wage band, he found it slightly hard to believe that this shabby place was also the home of a Torchwood employee.

Carefully, so as not to break the heavily rusted iron gate from its hinges, he opened the entrance leading onto the overgrown grounds. Wild knee-high grass covered most of the path from view, forcing Seto to approach the front door with caution, and he had to backtrack on himself at one point when he was misled to the remains of a broken table that somebody had dumped. He was about to knock when it began to open and revealed Ianto standing next to a woman with long dark wavy hair.

"Is this him Ianto?" The woman asked as she stepped down from the doorway, her eyes fixed on the stranger to her brother's residence. "The guy from work?"

With a bewildered look on his face, Ianto just stared at Seto who he hadn't expected to see for at least the next half hour. "Erm…" He struggled to find his voice.

"That would be me." Seto smiled politely and extended his hand to the woman for shaking. "Seto Kai…" It was still weird for him to except that neither of his surnames belonged to him anymore. "Just Seto." He added with a faint forced smile and then caught a glimpse of his colleague shaking his head in a horrified manner. _What's up with him?_

"Rhiannon Evans." She beamed back, shaking the offered hand before returning her view to Ianto who instantly stopped moving his head and wore a cover-up smile. "You weren't kidding when you said he was handsome."

_Why the hell would he tell her I was handsome?_ Seto pondered to himself. _Unless…Oh god no! _He gave an exasperated inner sigh as he realised that he'd just been mistaken for the Welshman's boyfriend.

"I guess I had better go rescue Johnny from Mam and the kids then." Rhiannon laughed as she leant up to plant a kiss on her brother's cheek. "Penblwydd Hapus."

Ianto returned the farewell kiss. "Tell Mam again that I'm sorry about missing the party."

"Don't fret about it. She'll be more than happy to know you're enjoying yourself for once. It's been over two years since your life fell apart, you deserve to rebuild it, - _however_ you see fit."

"Thank you for being so understanding." There was a tearful smile on the young man's face. Even though he could never tell her all the details of what went on in his life and sometimes there would be months at a time since they saw each other, Ianto knew that he could count on his sister to be there for him. Always.

"Oh Ianto." Rhiannon sighed before reaching out to pinch the cheek she had kissed just a moment ago. "Cheer up!" She giggled during the playful show of affection that she had used towards him since childhood.

"Rhi!" Ianto moaned and gentled ease her away to be able to knead his aching flesh.

Flashing her brother one last smile before she left, Rhiannon then turned to Seto. "It was nice meeting you, and I look forward to seeing you again." She held her finger up warningly towards him and her face became extremely serious. "But if you ever do anything to hurt my baby brother, then you'll have me to deal with." The sternness dropped and smile reappeared on her face, then she left down the overgrown path and out the gate, heading for her car that was parked on the side of the road.

"Well, she sure told me didn't she?" Seto muttered sarcastically under his breath as he watched the woman leave. Deep down inside though, he felt a sense of pride from witnessing the sibling interaction. The playfulness and over protectiveness shown proved to be a universal instinct that reminded him of the kind of relationship he had with his own brother. _Mokuba. _Would it ever stop hurting when he thought about him?

"Just what I need; another lie to smooth over." Ianto sighed quietly as he stood smiling and waving towards his sister as she drove off out of sight. He turned to face his early guest, "No offence, but you're not my type."

"Good!" Seto snorted in return. "Because you sure as hell aren't mine!" The two men were locked in a mock stare-out, neither of them actually intending the annoyance displayed with their wrinkled brows. "So, how come she mistook me for Jack?"

"For the simple reason that she hasn't met him yet, - none of my family has." Ianto explained backing down from the stare-out and gesturing for his colleague to enter the hallway. "I also told her my reason for not attending the 'surprise' gathering tonight was because I had a date, and with you showing up sooner than we had arranged is probably what caused her to put two and two together and come up with five." He closed the door now that the other man was inside. "Just a little misunderstanding that shouldn't take much to put right, so don't worry about it. As long as Jack doesn't find out, you'll be okay."

"The jealous overprotective type is he?" Seto casually asked as he followed the Welshman up the steep narrow staircase which led to the flat above. The stairwell felt cold, damp and was fairly dark with the only light entering it from the small stain glass window above the main front door.

"Jealous; extremely. Overprotective … he has his moments." Ianto sighed as he turned the keys in his front door. "But knowing Jack, if he found out about _you_ being mistaken for my other half, then he probably wouldn't let you live it down for a _very_ long time." An unusual devious smile crept on his face. "If you thought that the humiliation you went through last week was bad …"

"I get the picture." He didn't need to be reminded of the maid's outfit. "We don't tell him about this … _ever!_" The door opened, and Seto soon found himself ushered inside to be met with a very cleanly looking living space, - not that he expected anything less from the Welshman. Everything was pristine and neutral in colour; the floors, the walls, even the furniture, - what little there was, - was an array of beige, cream and magnolia. "An interesting minimalist look that you have here." He attempted to sound polite about the blandness of it all. "Very _contradicting_ to what you see on the outside."

"… _Who wants to live forever?" _Slow music accompanied by a Welsh male operatic voice played softly from the living room. _"Who dares to love forever, when love must die?…"_ Ianto nervously fumbled with the stereo as he ejected the CD he had left playing before his sister's departure. "Gift from Gwen." He explained shyly as he held up the album by the artist; Rhydian. "Jack dropped it by earlier."

"I knew it." Seto snickered. "He didn't fool either of us with his excuse about _'bumping into'_ an old friend whilst on the coffee run this morning, - which took close to three hours I might add." The day had been one of only a couple of occasions that the Welshman had taken time off work, and still the captain failed to keep his hormones under control, leaving Seto and Gwen to man the hub without him.

"Yes, well …" The Welshman began to flush from the silent recollection of the antics that he and Jack had gotten up to during that time. He glanced down again at the CD he was still holding. "Not my _usual_ taste in music, though he does sing a fantastic version of my favourite song from childhood, - shame it's not on the album though."

Ianto cleared his throat before harmoniously bursting out into the song he spoke of, "_Paham mae dicter, o Myfanwy. Yn llenwi'th lygaid duon di? A'th ruddiau tirion, o Myfanwy. Heb writh fy ngweled i?_" Choosing to stop before he even finished the first verse, the Welshman smiled sheepishly towards his guest. "I used to be a choir boy when I was younger."

"I take it that you were the one who named the pterodactyl?" Seto asked, still in awe of the unexpected voice he had heard.

"Pteranodon." Ianto was quick to correct in his deadpan tone. "If I hear you call her a pterodactyl again, then I won't be held responsible for my actions." He was met with a look of doubt relating to his seriousness behind the comment.

A fond reminiscing smile materialised on the young man's face as he thought back to the night of the creature's capture and his acceptance into the captain's life that it had brought with it. "I owe a lot to Myfanwy, without her I wouldn't be here today, and I do mean that quite literally." The smile vanished as his thoughts briefly flickered back to Lisa, who at the time he had stashed in the back room of his flat before being able to move her into the hub one night during his second week of work, whilst the rest of the team had been out socialising. Had he not been able to become part of Torchwood Cardiff, then he would have most certainly taken his own life, - after he had first freed his girlfriend from hers, - so that neither of them would continue to suffer the torment that their love had brought them. But she was gone now and Ianto had reclaimed what he could of his life whilst unexpectedly learning to love again. He gave a heavy sigh, releasing himself from his thoughts and felt the need to give a brief enlightenment to Seto about the cause of his exhalation. "Two years ago I felt my world ending, I was completely at the end of my rope, barely hanging on by a thread, and now ….. well you're one of the few to have seen what I've got."

Seto thought back to what Rhiannon had said before she left, - about her brother's life having fallen apart. "What happened back then for things to seem that way?" There was a genuine interest to hear more about the Welshman; the first time that he could recall ever _willingly_ wanting to know more about a person's life experiences.

The question had taken Ianto by surprise. Nobody beyond his family, except Jack, had ever asked him such a personal question about his life and sounded so sincere. When was the last time that had happened, excluding his lover, sister and mother? Possibly his first day on the job at Torchwood London, when his paperclips had been knocked off the desk and he first met _her _as she helped him retrieve them all? He shook his head slightly; he had to stop thinking about Lisa. "Have you read about the Canary Wharf incident that's on the hub's database?"

"Yes."

"I was one of those twenty-seven survivors. My family are aware that I lost my job and lover during that time, but thanks to Torchwood's need for secrecy, they will never know the full facts about the horrors I witnessed that day, and many more occasions since then."

"Ah!" Was all Seto could manage to say. Now he understood that like him, his colleague was also harbouring a traumatic past that he was unable to talk about with others. He did not want to force the younger man into more details than he felt comfortable revealing at his own pace, and so made no further attempt to continue the conversation as the room became silent.

A feeble smile eased onto Ianto's face as he broke the stillness. "I had better go and fetch those Duel Monster cards. Feel free to put on whatever music you like." He gestured towards the collection of CDs that were neatly kept beside the stereo player before leaving the room.

Not really caring much for the need for background music, but remaining polite to the Welshman, Seto made his way across the room and began to scan the pile of albums from the bottom up. Several artists that he had vaguely heard of stood out to him; 'Stereophonics', 'Manic Street Preachers', 'Tom Jones', - more than vaguely, - 'Duffy', and 'Catatonia'. Reaching the top of the pile he saw that the CD displayed face up was a band called 'Blue Gillespie' and his brow wrinkled. _Never heard of them, but judging by the ones that I know and the ones that I haven't got a clue how to pronounce, I'm guessing they're Welsh too._

Idly, Seto placed his finger on the side of the neatly stacked tower and slowly ran it down to pick an album at random; it wasn't like he was going to be paying attention to it anyway. He attempted to carefully slide the case out from its place but ended up knocking over almost the entire pile in the process. _Shit! _Quickly he re-stacked them, and made sure that they were all squarely in-line, before he placed the chosen disc into the stereo and onto one of the lowest settings allowed.

"Gorky's Zygotic Mynci." Ianto stated as he re-entered the room to hear the extremely faint sound of the Welsh alternative rock group. "Good choice." In his hands he carried a shoebox full of Duel Monster cards that he had made into decks over the years that he had been 'collecting' them. "I heard a crash, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, that was me." Seto admitted guiltily. "I accidentally knocked over your music collection." He was met with a slightly startled look. "It's okay though, I put them back into a neat, tidy, tower like they had been before."

"You didn't put them back in order." The Welshman said nervously as he glanced over to them. "They _need _to be in alphabetical order!" He placed the shoebox down onto the sofa and headed for the tower beside the stereo.

"OCD much?"

Ianto froze in his tracks from hearing the taunt. His eyes focused hard on the pile of albums that had landed him in the uncomfortable situation. If he had been at work, then his behaviour would have gone unnoticed, but here in his own home… _You don't 'have to' reorder them._ He told himself, but the urge to tend to the CDs calling out to him was too great and so he continued with the task of organising them.

Seto cursed himself in his mind after seeing the other man's reaction to his jeer. It had only appeared for a fraction of a second, but there had definitely been a look of fear in the light blue eyes, indicating that an extremely sensitive, hidden, truth had just been uncovered. "Ianto, I'm sorry." He was quick to apologise for making fun of his colleague. "If I had known that you suffered from the condition, then I never would have even considered joking about it like that."

"Oh please, I'm not _'_suffering_'_ from OCD." The Welshman rolled his eyes at the ludicrous suggestion whilst still sorting through the small plastic square cases. "It's just the way that I compartmentalise things, - no doubt you've noticed that I do it with _everything_, - how else do you think I manage to stay so retentive?"

"You don't have to deny or justify it in other ways." Seto assured, not convinced by the veil that was being used to hide the mental illness. "There's no shame in admitting you have a problem and need help." His mind was now laughing at the irony of the advice he was giving the younger man yet failed to follow himself.

With his back turned towards his guest, Ianto carefully straightened the newly-built tower of alphabetical music. "You're not the first to poke fun at my quirks, all the team and even my family have at some point; - Owen was the worst for it." There was a heavy sigh after mentioning his deceased colleague. "_God_, I miss him more than I thought possible. But out of all of them only _you _have shown the sincerity and dare to confront me about it. For that I thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

The young Welshman turned round to face Seto. "For being here right now and showing me that there's one more person out there who thinks that my life is worth something; that makes a total of three now." He bashfully glanced away. "I don't mean to sound like a hypocrite, especially after the way Gwen and I complained about Jack when you first joined the team, but I'd be grateful if you would just respect my right to privacy when it comes to the subject of my mental health."

"Of course, I completely understand." Seto assured, as he too would have recoiled and felt exactly the same way if anyone had discovered about the abuse inflicted by his stepfather. "And I want to thank you also, for having the patience to build this friendship as I know I'm not the easiest of people to get along with." A warm expression crossed his face as he pretended to think hard. "Let's see, that brings my grand total of friends up to ……….. One. Two if you count Jack, but only when he's _not_ flirting with me."

"He's just being friendly, that's all." A smile returned to brighten Ianto's face and was accompanied by a faint giggle. When was his lover going to put this guy out of his misery by revealing his true feelings for him? If Jack hadn't sworn him to secrecy then he'd have told Seto himself whilst they duelled and drank… "Coffee, same as usual?" His friend nodded in reply. "Right, I'll go make them and you can choose your cards during that time." He edged closer towards the doorway, trying not to seem too enthusiastic about making the hot beverages, and pointed at the shoebox. "They're already made into various themed decks, but it's perfectly okay if you want to pick n' mix."

Seto watched Ianto leave the room before he seated himself on the edge of the sofa next to the rectangular box. _Let's see what you've got. _He lifted the lid and saw that the space inside was crammed full of previously constructed decks like he had been told. Picking up the first few decks, he scanned through them. Although they each contained the odd super rare and ultra rare card, he wasn't impressed with the selection that each provided, so chose to make his own instead. _He's clearly not entered a single tournament from the look of these, I guess it's time he saw how a real deck should be compiled._

A short while later, Ianto re-entered the room carrying the two steaming hot drinks and noticed that Seto had finished assembling his deck. He placed the mugs down on a very small, circular, coffee table. "I guess you found a deck that you liked the look of then?"

"Actually; all of them were too 'amateur' for my liking."

"Amateur?" The Welshman sounded slightly offended by the remark. "And what, you're some kind of expert when it comes to this game?"

"A champion and one of the best there is." Seto hoped that didn't sound too egotistical. At least he hadn't been as haughty as he was during his youth. "Didn't you follow any kind of Duel Monsters tournament?"

"Yet another disadvantage of living in Wales." Ianto over-exaggerated his statement with a heavy sigh. "If you have a good look in the Valleys, I'm sure you'll find at least one village still living in the dark ages."

Seto chuckled at the ridicule of how isolated areas of the country could be. "You have a lot of cards that I also have had in my own deck at some point, so I chose to stick with them for our duel. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, gives me a chance to experience how the game is played professionally." Ianto took the shoebox from off the sofa and comfortably sat himself on the floor where he looked through the remaining cards of the cannibalised decks.

Seto leaned back where he sat on the sofa only to be poked in his side by a smaller A5 sized box that had been concealed underneath a cushion. "Look's like you've already opened the gift from your mother." He smirked at the sight of the MonstaQuest card game he'd discovered and then noticed that the monster displayed on the cover bore a uncanny resemblance to a weevil.

"Hmm?" Ianto looked up from studying the cards in front of him. "Oh those are part of my present from Jack. Since he found out about my 'interest' in TCGs the other day, he thought it would be hilarious to retrieve them from the hub's storage system and give them to me." His attention turned back to choosing his cards for the duel.

Not having a clue, or being bothered, as to why they had first been placed into Torchwood's vaults, Seto simply placed the pack of cards back where he had found them and then noticed something else, - something red, - also partially hidden by the cushion. His curiosity got the better of him and he took hold of the bright red military-type beret that had a pin badge displaying 'UNIT' on the front of it. _UNIT_? Why did that sound familiar to him? "You were in the forces?" He examined the item with inquisitive interest.

Ianto stared wide eyed at the sight of the red cap. "That would be the other half of my present from Jack." He then feebly added, "For private use only."

"I seriously don't want to know!" The beret was swiftly put back where it had come from. _That'll teach me to let my curiosity get the better of me. _

The Welshman stifled a laugh and began to place the majority of his cards back into their shoebox, leaving out one of the already made 'amateur' decks that he had decided would be the best one to use against his friend's 'champion' deck. "We'll have to play our game on the floor since I don't own a table anymore after the accident Jack and I had this morning…"

"Again, I don't want to know!"

Now with both men seated on the laminate flooring, two field playing mats were laid out between them along with two calculators, - each displaying 8000, - to keep track of their life points. _This is so primitive._ Seto thought as he longed for the use of his Dueldisk that he knew hadn't, and most likely wouldn't, been created in this timeline. _No wonder this game died in popularity. _Decks were exchanged and shuffled before being returned to their respective player, then a coin was flipped which Seto won the call and chose to go second, before they drew their hand of five cards.

Ianto studied the hand he had drawn; 'Time Wizard', 'King of Yamimaki', 'Change of Heart', 'Share the Pain', and 'Stim-Pack'. _Could have been better._ From the cards he held, only 'Time Wizard' and 'King of Yamimaki' were monster cards, - with the first being the only one that he could play without the use of a tribute, - the rest were magic cards, so he was hoping to pick up another low level monster or trap card as he drew to start his turn. He had no such luck as 'Polymerization' now stared up at him.

Knowing that he shouldn't leave himself wide open for a direct attack, but with no trap cards and not wanting to play his 'Time Wizard' just yet, Ianto opted to bluff his defences by setting 'Share the Pain' on his side of the field. "End." He watched his opponent begin his turn, and attempted to start a conversation between them. "What's '_he_' like?"

"What's 'who' like?" Seto asked as he added his new card to his hand and then played 'Harpie's Feather Duster' to clear the set card away, only to feel rather foolish at having fallen for such a con when he saw the magic card, - that was completely useless at this point in the game, - and not a trap like he had been expecting. _He either has a poor hand, and knows how important it is to make sure you have something on the field, or it was merely a trick, the likes of which I won't fall for a second time from him._

"The Doctor."

"Why'd you ask?" Seto smirked as he summoned 'Vorse Raider' to attack and take the Welshman's life points down to 6100, before setting two traps and ending his turn. _If I've misjudged his ability, then I'm not taking any chances._

"Just curious." Ianto drew his card, - 'Mystical Sheep #1', - relieved that his bluff had worked and satisfied with the monster he had just picked up. "The way Jack talks about him, it's as though the sun shines out of his arse!"

"Talks out of it more like." Seto sneered and was met with an amused smile as he watched Ianto play 'Change of Heart' to take control of his 'Vorse Raider' and then used it as a tribute to summon 'King of Yamimaki'. "You clearly know what you're doing; shame that you won't have it for very long." He flipped one of his trap cards to reveal 'Ring of Destruction' which destroyed the Welshman's monster and took 2000 life points from each of them.

Unfazed by the move, Ianto continued with his turn. _One trap down, one more to go! _He played 'Polymerization' and held up 'Time Wizard' and 'Mystical Sheep #1' to show the other man. With these two monsters, - 'Mystical Sheep #1' having the ability to substitute any fusion material monster, providing that any other ones required were genuine, - 'Thousand Dragon' was summoned to the field from his fusion pile and an attack on his opponent's life points was in progress.

"Nice move, but it's all been in vain." Seto flipped over his other trap that was 'Negate Attack' rendering his friend's efforts useless, and his life points remained at 6000. _I knew I was right to set both traps and lure him into using up more of his cards._ He saw Ianto look slightly taken aback._ Next turn I should have what I need to remove that dragon of his._

The Welshman studied the playing field. _That's both traps out of the way with, his hand down to just two cards, 2000 life points from his total, and one of my strongest monsters on the field, - I'd say that was pretty good going for just one turn. _He nervously fumbled at the single card in his hand and decided to end his turn. "Well?"

_Well what? _Seto thought as he picked up his card, and then realised that Ianto was still referring to their conversation about the timelord. "My personal opinion on him is far from Jack's; I really don't like him." Not having gotten the card he had hoped for, all he could do was set a monster to defend his life points from the dragon's next attack, and then ended his turn.

"Like you don't really like Jack?" 'Beautiful Headhuntress' was casually picked up from the younger man's deck.

_He still thinks I'm after his lover? _What way that remark been intended Seto wasn't entirely sure, but he definitely knew that it had been sarcastically quoted. "Look, for the last time I don't…"

"I know." Ianto was quick to interrupt as he didn't need to hear the other man say he wasn't passionately attracted to Jack; he'd believed what he'd been told during their first night on weevil patrol together. There was a feeble smile before he continued with his turn by playing both the cards in his hand. "I just meant that you often deny being friends even though you both get along with each other." 'Beautiful Headhuntress' was now equipped with the magic card 'Stim-Pack' which increased the attack points from 1600 up to a total to 2300.

"No, I _really _don't like that quack." Seto watched as 'Beautiful Headhuntress' was used to attack and destroy his face down 'Battle Ox'. "Everything about the guy just seems to constantly irritate me; I could be here all day ranting about him. You know the saying, _'If you can't say something nice; then don't say anything at all.'_" The younger man had continued to attack with 'Thousand Dragon', taking his life points down to 3600. _I'll turn the tables with my next turn!_

"End." Ianto gave a smug smile, though he was a little worried that he had used all of his hand by this point, meaning that if his friend was to draw the right card and use it, then he'd be stuck with using whatever card was picked up at the beginning of his turn and have very little chance in succeeding to victory. "Are you also choosing to stick by that phrase when it comes down to Gwen?"

At the mention of his female colleague, Seto hesitated, - hand over his deck, - before quickly drawing the next card so that his opponent didn't think he was surrendering the game. _Why did he have to say her name?_

"What happened between you two?" Ianto was curious as to why their behaviour had changed so suddenly during the previous week. He was aware that some kind of fallout had occurred, but what it had been about he had no idea. "You were getting along so well during the days before you both fled the hub on that drizzly occasion."

"Like I said; I'm not the easiest of people to get along with." Seto sighed as he set another monster, failing to hide his wounded heart over the misunderstanding with Gwen and the fact that he still hadn't drawn the card he wanted.

"Why not just make amends with her? It's becoming painful to watch the pair of you go out of the way to avoid each other and only have minimal contact when you're forced to work together."

"It's your move."

The stern look he received told Ianto that there was going to be no more said on the situation and he should just disregard the route that the conversation had taken. He drew a card to start his turn which meant that the attack points of his 'Beautiful Headhuntress' dropped down to 2100 because of the side effect of 'Stim-Pack', which now reduced the attack points of the equipped monster by 200 for each of his standby phases. _Well this was over with fairly quickly. _Playing the card he had just picked up, 'Baby Dragon' was summoned to the field. Choosing to attack using 'Beautiful Headhuntress', the face-down 'Mystic Horseman' was destroyed. Next, 'Thousand Dragon' took Seto's life points to 1200, and 'Baby Dragon' brought them to 0.

"Well, will you look at that!" The Welshman exclaimed mockingly with raised eyebrows as he viewed the playing mats. "Looks like _my_ 'amateur' deck, beat _your _'champion' deck. Your life points reduced to a perfect zero, with over half of my own still remaining. In just four turns too." He glanced at the highly annoyed Seto. "I thought you said that you were one of the best?"

"You just got lucky this time."

"Luck has nothing to do with it." Ianto smirked as he knew the true reason as to why he had won. "I know every single one of my cards Seto, so when I looked at the ones you left behind from the decks you had broken up, I knew instantly which cards you had chosen."

"So you cheated?"

"I like to think of it as researching my opponent and using that knowledge to the best of my ability." The smug feelings couldn't be held back any longer. "My retentiveness doesn't seem so eccentric now does it?"

Even though he had just lost, Seto couldn't help but smile back. "I say we go again, best of three."

"You're on." The cards were re-gathered and everything was set up ready for the next game, but before they started, Ianto just had to ask, "Don't you have anything for me?"

"Like what?" Seto didn't have a clue as to what the Welshman was implying.

"Normally when it's someone's birthday, it's usually tradition for friends to send cards and presents."

_I knew I'd forgotten something!_ Seto hit himself on the forehead for his stupidity of leaving the greetings card on his desk. "I do have a card for you, but it's back at the hub."

"And a present?" Ianto enquired.

"Now you're pushing it." Seto smirked.

"But it's the rules, you have to buy me a present!"

"Screw the rules, I have no money!"

"Hmm?" Ianto pondered thoughtfully. "_Screw the rules, I have no money!_ Catchy, - I like it." His face then wrinkled with doubt. "But I don't think it's going to catch on though."

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**A/N: Lots of charater and friendship building going on in this fic which I kinda like :)**

**Ianto's home in this is completely made up by me (no doubt it will be proven wrong in the future when Russell T Davies gets around to featuring it at some point in a future series) and I hope I got Rhiannon right!**

**If this wasn't the wonderful world of fanfiction, then Ianto would not have CDs by 'Rhydian' and 'Blue Gillespie' in his collection as they have only just recently been released (the fic is set August 2008) **

**'Blue Gillespie' is a very bad joke, - **_**that's not**_** my actual thoughts on the band, lol. For those who don't know, the band's singer, - and I use that term losely (is prepared to be beat up by the band's and fellow GDL fans) - is none other than Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones)**

**Pteranodon **_**not**_** pterodactyl! A little pet peeve of mine that snuck in. (and now that I've just realised it, it's bugging me; contradicts Ianto in **_**'Fragments'**_** Argh!)**

**MonstaQuest features in the Torchwood novel 'Pack Animals' by** **Peter Anghelides (one of only two Torchwood novels that I've recently read so far) So why would Jack find it hilarious to give these to Ianto? You'll have to read it to find out ;)**

**The UNIT beret is a Doctor Who reference, which Jack also commented that he wanted to get one for Ianto to wear in one episode of Torchwood, and also provides a faint link with what Seto told Roland back in the main fic.**

**I can't write/make up duels even if my life depended on it! (too much thinking involved for my liking, lol) So to get round that in order to make this fic possible, the duel is a write up of one of my saved replay files taken from** **'Power of Chaos: Kaiba the Revenge'**.

_**Screw the rules, I have no money! **_**- Yet another YGO TAS joke. If LK ever reads this; I'm so sorry, I just can't help myself.**

**Hope you enjoyed,**

**KG**

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**Liked this? Then why not check out starwefter's fic: 'The Birthday That Never Was' (link in my profile) and find out just want kind of gift Ianto received from Seto.**


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